Women behind you
by GabrielaF6
Summary: A new case brings John, Chas and Zed back to New Orleans, this time to investigate the St. Louis cemetery, where the popular legend of Marie Laveau lies.
1. Chapter 1

Adelaide Knight had just turned 21 years old and her mother still insisted on that childish tradition involving Addy, a grown up adult who had brought her boyfriend and friends to the familial party, blowing candles and making a wish.

Addy blew the candles, but wished nothing. It wasn't that she didn't have goals – she wanted to graduate from the history class and she wanted to gather courage to break up with her boyfriend who had been cheating on her for three weeks now -, it was just that she knew better ways to achieve what she wanted.

When the party was over – her grandparents slept early, so it was still 9 p.m. when they cleaned the balloons and the food -, she and her friends went back to the campus. They were trying to drag her to some college party so she could get drunk for the first time, but she had other plans.

After she finally dissuaded them, she was left alone with her boyfriend. She and her "friends" almost had a physical fight, although Addy loathed fights – _You never have any fun, A. You're such a killjoy. Stop acting like a grandma_. It was time for Jake to be useful.

"So", said he, "what do you wanna do now?" He had a devilish smile on his face, suggesting second intentions.

"I wanna go to St. Louis."

Jake rolled his eyes.

"Again? We went there last week."

"It was for a homework. I want to do something different now."

"Kinky sex? I'm all for that, but you know, a cemetery isn't the most romantic place on Earth."

Now Addy rolled _her _eyes. He only ever thought about sex. It wasn't surprising he and Emily got along so_ well_.

"No, I want to visit Marie Laveau's grave."

"Her again? You have to stop being obsessed with that woman."

"I searched for that legend I heard on class. I told you about it. Everybody agrees that when you draw three Xs on her tomb wall, she grants a wish."

"Why would she, though? You're fouling her perpetual home. It doesn't make any sense."

"Most myths don't. They just exist. Sometimes you believe them, sometimes you don't. But Marie really lived, which is more than most legends have on their favor, and she was truly a voodoo queen. So executing wishes isn't the most unbelievable part of the story."

Jake sighed. Addy knew he hated when she spoke like that. It made his brain hurts.

"Okay then. Let's go. But only because it's your birthday."

The cemetery was known for the floods. When it happened, decades ago, the water took the caskets and they got exposed, so people had to build graves above the earth. Marie Laveau was a celebrity there; people all over the world came to visit her.

Addy brought a piece of red chalk with her. Jake dragged himself behind her, whining every two steps. The night was dark, there was no moon on the sky. Addy's flashlight lighted the path. The place was empty. The crypts were on sight, spying on them.

On the center, occupying a special place, was Laveau's mausoleum. It wasn't as impressive as Addy had thought, there were flowers and candles on the floor, but the sepulcher was narrow and white, even though it didn't look like it with all the graffiti there. Lots of Xs, like Addy had thought. Not as much as you would have guessed with the legend being so popular and all. Even though many people knew about it, not all of them had the guts to come here – especially at night, when it was hard for the gravedigger to spot them and stop them to do this – and mark the place.

Addy picked up the chalk. Jake was impatient, snorting and muttering. She drew the three Xs and waited for Marie to appear after she had thought about her wish: _I want Jake out of my life_. Minutes passed by. Nothing happened. Jake kept hurrying her, _I'm cold. Let's go home._ She lost hope. She made her walk back to her car parked outside the cemetery, annoyed and frustrated.

"I can't believe it", she whispered. "You were right, Jake."

She expected him to get all cock-a-hoop and never let this night go. He would always remind her of her failure. _Told you. We should have stayed on your room, warmed and pleased._

_ I really wish he would go away, _she repeated. Then she noticed he didn't reply. Was he so pissed with her he would never talk to her anymore? _Oh, you wish, you silly,_ she thought, mocking her own optimism.

She turned around to check on him. But he wasn't there.

"Jake? Where are you?" she asked out loud. _Such a baby. _He was probably pulling a prank on her. Well, he would be disappointed. St. Louis was practically a second home for her. She had spent many hours there, doing research for her history classes. If someone was afraid there, it was him, who calculated the seconds to get out of there since the moment she had asked him to go with her.

"I'm going back to campus without you", she warned him, like a mother fooling around a kid who didn't want to cooperate. Then, she heard a sound. It seemed like steps. It could only be Jake or the gravedigger. Either way, it was better for her to check on it. If it were Jake, she would scold him; if it was the gravedigger, she could ask if he had seen a man who looked like an adult but acted like a child.

She followed the sound back to Marie's tomb. Her flashlight was weakening. The batteries were probably about to die. Still, she saw a silhouette hiding behind one of the walls.

"Jake, c'mon! Stop playing with me."

Then, a female voice whispering so soft it could be leaves moving with the wind:

"You're welcome, child."

She turned the corner of the tomb.

Lying there motionless was Jake's corpse.


	2. Chapter 2

Zed woke up early that day. One could imagine that three adults between jobs and living alone would spend their days waking up late or not even getting off the bed, but the day started early in the mill house. She brushed her hair and her teeth, changed her pyjamas to jeans and T-shirts and went downstairs. She was a little bit asleep, but when she heard voices talking on a low tone, in that conspicuous no-one-can-know-about-this way, she stopped and listened.

Chas and John were already up. Zed sensed right away their tone: they were discussing a case. After the scry map being burned, they had to go back to the old days: reading the news every day to find a pattern. Until now, they hadn't gotten much luck: a quick case involving an elf brought them to Michigan but since then they had spent their days at the mill house, which was disquieting considering the Darkness rising. They knew there were many dangers out there – they just weren't able to reach them with no magical map.

"New Orleans again", Chas was saying. "We should have set our base there."

"The city is a magnet to disasters." That was John. "I wouldn't be surprised if a witch had cursed that soil centuries ago."

"There's a pattern forming. We shouldn't take long to go investigating."

"Agreed. I'll just take my bag and choose my best bottle and I'll meet you at the cab."

Zed cleared her throat and stepped out of the shadows. She knew that fast way of his; he was thinking about throwing himself in a case and leaving her behind. Again. But this time she wouldn't let him.

"Did you forget someone?"

John stopped and sighed. Then, he put a thoughtful face.

"I don't think so. Chas, did we feed our pet? Wait, we don't have one. So I guess we're set to go."

John changed his path to walk beside her, but she stepped on his way.

"I'm going to wait for you in the cab."

John shrugged, but didn't look at her while saying:

"I'm not your dad. You can do whatever you want." And went to his room.

Zed was surprised by his reaction, but she also felt satisfied for win. For the first time.

"We wouldn't leave you behind", said Chas. "That was just his way of saying: go get Zed while I pack things."

She didn't want to tell Chas about her problems, about how John was threating her in a distant and cold way, for three reasons: a) she wasn't a helpless girl, b) she had pierced through John's barrier once, she was confident she could do it again; even though she felt sad for being kicked out of John's close friendship after all they had gone through; and c) she would have to tell about Jim's kiss then, and she wasn't willing to have this conversation.

"My codename is Bag now? What a lame superhero league we are."

"I guess we're more of antiheroes than heroes." Chas shrugged, and Zed did the same.

"So, what happened?" She changed the subject and glanced at all the newspapers on the table, trying to make some sense of it.

"Apparently New Orleans got crazy. A beggar won the lottery without a bet. An old lady got hit by a car and when the police checked the street cameras there was no vehicle in them. A student dropped dead out of nowhere in a cemetery."

Zed analyzed all that information. She didn't have any visions lately and Jim didn't tell her anything about this.

"Okay, I'd say college students die all the time, but usually because of overdoses, and not brain death. That's odd." She considered the evidences for a second. "Plus, cemeteries are always a bad sign."

"Tell me about it." Chas started to organize the papers. Zed was left with nothing to do, so she announced:

"Well, I'm going to pack _my _things."

"Yeah, and I'm gonna warm up the cab."

-x-

It was a seven hours drive. A long time to listen to Rolling Stones on repeat. John had his window opened and was blowing the smoke out of it. Chas bravely endured the trip behind the wheel.

Zed was trying to get something about the case using her visions, but there was nothing in her mind. She was worried she had lost her gift, even though that wasn't possible. Her visions were a part of her since she could remember; they couldn't be ripped off like a limb. If she wasn't useful anymore, there wouldn't be a reason for her to stick with John and Chas, and she would have to go back to her runaway life. She hadn't notice how much she got used to have a home since the perspective of losing it came into mind.

"Zed, you should call your boyfriend and ask about the weird things happening in his town." That came from John in a neutral tone.

"That's a good idea", agreed Chas. "He must've heard about them."

Zed did, although she felt uncomfortable about the perspective of talking to Jim after weeks with no contact, even more after their kiss, in front of John. But he didn't pick up, and relief and worry rose on her chest.

"I'll try to talk to him when we get there", she said.

"We're close now", announced Chas. "Just two more hours."

"I'll take a nap then." John made himself comfortable turning his trench coat into a pillow.

"Do you want me to drive?" offered Zed to Chas. She stretched her legs in front of her body.

"Nah, I'm good. You should sleep though."

"Nah, I'm good", she echoed him, which brought a smile to his face.

"Any luck with your drawings?"

"Nope. It seems that I'm blocked, you know? As if someone has shut a door on my face."

"Rude."

"Yeah. I'll try to pray for Manny when I'm not listening to the Rolling Stones shouting 'Just call me Lucifer'." She sang along when Sympathy For The Devil got to that line.

Chas laughed.

"Could you two stop ruining the song?" John muttered, his eyes still closed. "It's like you're showing your middle finger to a nun or sacrificing puppies in name of God."


	3. Chapter 3

"So, who do you wanna check on first?" asked John. They had arrived at the hotel and made the check in, and now they were meeting on the room 411 to discuss what could be called a plan. He was going through his artifacts spread on the bed to decide which one to bring along.

"I'd say the beggar, but his name wasn't printed on the newspaper article", said Chas. "Probably because he doesn't have one."

"That's a shame. Beggars are always easier to lure."

"Perhaps because you look like one", claimed Zed.

John gave a quick flash of his white teeth on a fake grin.

"Funny. How about you and your jokes go do something useful and this time actually talk to Corrigan, instead of just trying?"

Angry was rising on Zed's chest, but she didn't let it show, considering that was exactly what John wanted and expected. Explosions. Fights. But Zed would play along and show that she had a cold side as well.

"It's not my fault he didn't pick up earlier. He isn't a dog to come when I ask."

"Is that really so?" John pretended to be intrigued. "Doesn't seem like it."

"John", called Chas, carefully. He wasn't sure what was going on between the two of them and he usually wouldn't care if that didn't affect their dynamic. "The old lady is in the hospital and she's probably not gonna make it. We should go talk to the girl who was with the college student in the graveyard."

John hadn't stopped gazing her. She held his eyes, refusing to let it go.

"Okay, then." He backed off and took his trench coat and bag before leaving the room.

Chas followed him after glancing meaningfully at Zed.

"See you later."

Zed took her mobile and called Jim again. This time he picked up and relief poured down her insides. She was worried with his absence, worried that her vision had become true. But after a short phone call, they agreed to meet at a pub near where Zed was staying.

-x-

John showed his card to the watchman on front of the female dorm.

"I'm from Homicides. I need to speak with Adelaide Knight."

The watchman analyzed his ID cautiously. Then, after awhile, he conceded:

"Her room is on the third floor, terminal B. If she's not there she's probably on the history building or the library. There's some campus maps on the front desk if you need it." He was being polite, but his monotone gave John a hint that he had instructed it a couple of times already. John hoped Adelaide wasn't tired enough of talking to cops to answer more questions.

He and Chas passed through the security and entered the building. It was almost evening now, so the hallways were busy with girls coming and going. John smiled and turned to Chas: "If I had gone to university, this would be my sanctuary. No wonder Ritchie became a college professor."

Chas rolled his eyes.

"Remember that she just lost her boyfriend and this pep talk is not gonna work."

"Yeah, must be one hell of a relationship to celebrate her birthday on a cemetery."

They took the elevator with a group of girl friends. One of them giggled at John and he winked in return. Chas considered the possibility of jumping on the elevator pit.

They reached the 3B door. Chas knocked twice before someone opening it.

"Are you Adelaide?" asked John. A sweatshirt jacket and sweatpants hid the girl's short body. Her silky black hair was oily. The typical image of someone grieving.

"Yeah. Are you guys from the police station?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, miss Knight, I know you're tired of cops wondering around, but we have other questions to ask. I'm detective Talbot and this is detective Rayner. Let's say that we cover other angle of your boyfriend's death."

"C'mon in." She let them pass and then closed the door behind them.

Her room was a mess. There was no signal of a roommate. John observed every detail, trying to see something that could indicate her as the killer, even though he couldn't see how she would be connected to the beggar and the old lady. His best beat was that someone summoned something that got out of control. A very blurred conclusion.

"So, what 'new' angle is this?"

"The police is thinking about murder", told John straight away.

"It means you think I did it considering there was no one else in the graveyard." She had a straight face, no fear and no surprise, which interested John.

"Do you want to add something to your previous statement?" inquired Constantine. It was a chance for her to confess.

She shook her head.

"What changed in the case for you consider me a suspect? Corrigan said they thought I had poisoned him at first, but then the legist saw he had no reasons to drop dead. Absolutely none. So they discarded me as a murderer."

"Corrigan? _Jim_ Corrigan? Is he taking care of your case?" John was startled.

"Yeah, but apparently you two switched places."

The blonde man gritted his teeth with the comparison.

"He's not off your case. Mr. Chandler and me…we're just… helping him."

"Well, I hope you find out what caused this. Jake didn't deserve whatever happened to him."

_Let's see if this is true, _Constantine thought_. _

"One last question, miss Knight", intervened Chas, suddenly, taking John by surprise. "What were you guys doing on St. Louis?"

She sighed and lowered her head, staring at her feet.

"It's _so _stupid, but… I… well, I can see you're not from New Orleans, Mr. Talbot, but there's a local legend very popular among the people who live here. Marie Laveau's grave lies on St. Louis. It says that she grants a wish if you mark her tomb with three Xs… oh, I'm sorry, do you even know who Marie Laveau is?"

"Yeah, we do", replied Chas. He and John exchanged a look. It was a beginning, a very promising one. They were both hopeful. That explained why all those weird events were happening at once in New Orleans. Obviously that wouldn't be a good explanation for Adelaide or Jake's parents, but if they could send Marie's ghost to another spiritual plane, that would stop.

There was only one question left: why that started happening now? The voodoo woman died years ago, and so was the legend born. Why people were only looking for her now? Or maybe someone had just awakened her spirit recently?

With all those questions unanswered, they lied and said they would contact Adelaide if they had responses. Then they went back to Chas's cab.

"Let's see if Zed find out something with Corrigan", said John. Chas drove back to the hotel.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm sorry I didn't pick up my phone earlier. It's just… things are crazy around here. I've been busy." Jim didn't even have to explain himself, but his attempt plus his sorrow face brought a smile to Zed's face. She had been crazy worried about him at first, but after she had realized the reason – his work as cop, which was restless with all these cases in town – she felt relief, and then she felt that confusing sensation she had every time she noticed how much of a good man Jim was, and how his destiny was unfair.

_The worst things in life come free to us indeed. _

She was glad to see he hadn't changed after their last meeting. Maybe he regretted their kiss, or maybe he had become cynical and delusional as a certain exorcist after facing his future. Either way, Zed had prepared for the worst. And when she found out he still was a sweet and gentle guy, she was surprised, but happy.

"No problem. Actually, I can imagine how your life must be messy. We came here because of this."

Jim's face darkened. He was confused.

"So… do you guys think this a supernatural case?" He had to keep his voice low so the people around them wouldn't hear. They were in a pub, surrounded by cigarette smoke and loud electronic music. It was still evening, so the tavern wasn't crowded. They were sitting in a table, face to face, which brought many memories to Zed, and she wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad feeling.

"We're pretty sure. John and Chas had to dig the news, but they saw a pattern here. Haven't you heard about the beggar who won the lottery and the old lady hit by an 'invisible' car?

"I was so focused on my case I must've missed them. But thinking about it, it's weird too. A perfectly strong young guy died on a graveyard out of nowhere."

"Is it your case? Do you have a suspect?"

"We thought about the girlfriend, but I talked to her and she didn't seem able to do it without leaving marks. Actually, no one would be able to do it. This was driving me mad until I received your call." He smiled through his beard.

Zed smiled back unconsciously. But then she went back to business, and explained the other two cases for him.

"Chas and John are talking with Addy right now. I hope they find something out."

"You know I'll be here to help you, right?" His hand crossed the table and rested on top of hers. She didn't back off. How could she refuse a dead man seeking for comfort? She wanted to help him to live the fullest while he could, but this was unfair for her too. She considered him a dear friend, what was going to happen if he made her fall in love with him?

"I know. But I don't think this is wise. Wouldn't it be better if you stayed low? Maybe this helps you too." _To stay alive. _That's the line she didn't say out loud, but they both knew it was there, at the end of the phrase.

"You said yourself it's impossible to hide from your visions."

She didn't like the way he said it, like if she had doomed him to it. Like if her visions pushed the bad things to happen, not that the bad things pushed her visions to happen.

She shrugged at last and let the subject go.

"You're so stubborn", she joked with a smile on her face.

He took a sip of his beer. She had refused one this time.

"You probably like your men like this considering you're always around this type of guy. Are you masochistic or something?"

She laughed, even though her insides were cold thanks to his mention to John.

"Wouldn't you love to know so you could use your handcuffs to other ends that don't involve arresting the bad guys?"

-x-

"Where's she?" asked John after hours of waiting for Zed to come back to the hotel. He and Chas were expecting them to meet at the room 411 so they could finally discuss all the information they had gathered. John and Chas's investigation had been useful. Now they needed to know what Zed had discovered so they could go to the St. Louis cemetery – an obvious place to start the second part of the investigation – tonight and see that voodoo queen themselves. "It shouldn't take this long." Two hours, to be precise. He was starting to get annoyed. Was Jimmy boy having problems with ejaculation or something? They could at least dissemble it.

"John, let's be honest: if you had to go to a bar, would you just ask around about random weird cases and leave without hesitation? She's probably taking a break from you. God knows I would, but unfortunately Corrigan's not my type."

"Well, I'm going to bring them back to Earth." He took his trench coat. "It's not time to have fun. I hope they used a condom at least."

Chas rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Not everything's about sex, you know, John?"

"Yeah, sure", the exorcist murmured ironically before leaving the room.

He parked the truck in front of the pub. The feeling of _déjà vu_ stopped him for a few seconds before going inside. On the bright side, he could at least buy a bottle of beer instead of just leaving like the last time. This way it'd be worth seeing whatever he had seen or was about to see, he convinced himself.

He didn't spot them at first. There were a couple of men who seemed to play for a heated bet at the pool table. A few girls danced on the middle of the place. Very romantic. Corrigan knew how to pick a place, he would give him that. On the next time, John would ask Zed to switch places with him so he would go on a date with Jimmy boy.

Before going further to look for them, he stopped at the bar and asked for a beer. He felt as if he had to be drunk to proceed. He drank half of the bottle. One of the guys at the pool table yelled, angry. He shouted something about one of his mates cheating. The one accused from cheating yelled back nasty words. John watched the fight delighted. The others tried to calm the one who accused his colleague down, but at least the trickster left the pub.

So mature. John was impressed. They didn't even have to drag him outside. He had an idea.

John got closer to the others, who were discussing how they would continue with one of the groups missing a player.

"I can replace him", offered John. "How much are you guys betting?" Money was always important, and John enjoyed all the opportunities he had to easily take some.

They answered and talked among themselves to decide if that was a good idea. John waited, pleased. He knew they would give way.

"Okay then."

John wasn't very good at playing snooker, but he was good at casting spells to hit the pocket with no one noticing, so he was obviously winning. That was how Chas and he paid the bills and went to the groceries store.

The barman came near them and patted one of the men in the shoulder. He whispered something in his ear. John knew exactly the instant he had been discovered. The guy's eyes glanced at him and his face obscured. The barman went back to his place. Then, John noticed their exactly-the-same tattoos: all of them had an ouroboros in the biceps. John rolled his eyes to himself with his bad luck. A gang. Nice. Precisely what he needed. He had gotten lucky tonight.

"It seems like we have another cheater among us", the man spoke. The others moved along fast, like if they were the same limb. Two of them grabbed John by his arms. His feet almost got up the ground.

The-apparently-leader approached, his fist ready to punch John's stomach. He had gotten used to bar fights, so he prepared himself, anticipating the pain. When it came, the blow hurt his guts, but it could be worse. He felt like he would puke.

The girls stopped dancing to see what was going on. One of them screamed "Fight!" and the others ran out of the bar.

The guy backed, gathering boost for the next punch.

"Stop!" A shout came from behind the man.

He laughed.

"Or what, you're going to call the police?" He turned around to see who had stopped him, annoyed.

"I'm the police." Jim threw a punch on the man's noise, which made his head fly back and his limb to emit a cracked sound. Blood rained on John's face and he cursed.

The other men still hadn't backed off. Jim reached for his gun to make it faster.

"Hey, you", came Zed's voice from behind the man who grabbed John's left arm. He turned around to look and she hit a bottle on his chin, then she punched his face to prove her point.

The other guy finally released John – but he didn't blench. He took a knife out of his jacket's pocket. John didn't have time to retreat; they were too close.

Zed threw herself at him, replacing his body – so then, when the guy attacked, he thrust the blade on her guts, not John's.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi, guys! I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed my story. Thank you so much, it really helps a lot! ;D Also, I wanted to tell you hellblazers about a very important pool on the E! News website, Save One Show (2015). Please vote for Constantine. We make it through the top 4, and we're in the third place right now. We need to show NBC how many fans it has. _

* * *

The attacker dropped his knife and ran. John reached for Zed and held her before she fell. Jim aimed his gun, ready to chase the man, but John shouted to him: "Leave it, Corrigan! Help me with her."

Jim's mind came into focus immediately. He looked back: John carried Zed in his arms. His eyes glanced to her wound: blood poured through her shirt, soaking her wet in red fluid. He had had many experiences involving injuries and he knew that, even though Zed's was superficial, that blade could be grimy with bacteria. They had to worry about the bleeding now, and tetanus after.

"My car is outside", he commanded. He opened the door to John pass through. He was trying to hurry, but at the same he was careful not to move Zed much. It was like those instructions to not move car accident's victims: one wrong move and he would be quadriplegic. He didn't want to hush the blood.

John sat on the back seat with Zed and Jim drove to the hotel's address John told him. Her head was on his lap, her eyes half close. He took his coat off and pressed it against the lesion.

"Keep her awake", instructed Jim. He passed through lots of red lights, which would probably cost him many fines if he weren't a cop. "If she sleeps, she may not wake up."

"Zed, talk to me", John asked. "Stay with me."

"I'm here", she whispered weakly. "Where else would I be? Jim is probably driving above the speed limit."

That brought John's lips to twist in his mouth's corner. So stubborn. So strong.

"Chas and I talked to Adelaide", he began to tell what they had found out. Jim exchanged an annoyed look with him through the mirror. One look that said: _Are you seriously gonna talk about work now? _John shrugged and mouthed: _What? I'm seriously missing ideas right now._

"Marie Laveau? Who's that?" asked Zed. She was listening and she was interested. It was good, that kept her mind away from the pain. John had being stabbed more times than he could count, but that didn't mean he didn't feel the pain every time.

He noticed Jim listening carefully too. Unfortunately, that was his case, first legally and now morally. John knew he wouldn't just leave it for John to solve it. He was too good for this. That was probably why Zed liked him.

John explained how Marie was a very famous voodoo queen in the middle of the 1790's. And even after her death, people saw her in town. She was buried on the St. Louis cemetery, a place known by floods that made the coffins come back. The legend said if one did three red Xs on her tombstone, she would grant a wish.

"Makes sense." Zed's voice was so low John had to bend his head to put his ear close to her lips while she whispered the words. "Can't wait to have a pep talk to her."

"We're here", Jim announced. He barely parked the car and hurried to open the door for John. He held Zed and pressed the tissue tightly against her wound. John got out of the car and led Jim with Zed on his arms to the room 411.

"Chas, it's us." He knocked frantically on the door until the big man appeared. When he saw Zed, her curls against her sweat forehead, her clothes bathed in scarlet-like blood, her delicate features twisted slightly into a pain expression, his eyes widened.

"What happened?"

"There's no time to explain." John went inside the room. He pushed back the artifacts on the bed to clean the place for Zed. Jim laid her gently there. Chas had hurried to his bag and grabbed his aids.

"We need to sew her up", he said.

"Shouldn't we call 911?" suggested Jim.

"No", protested Zed, suddenly, regaining forces. Her eyes were frightened with the possibility. "No hospitals."

"It's okay", John calmed her down, standing by her side. "You're not going anywhere." He said that harshly, gazing Jim to make his point.

"I'm ready." Chas had the needle and the thread on his hands. No one would guess that such big and strong hands would be kind enough to sew a hurt.

John ripped her shirt out, just enough so they could see the injury right.

"Corrigan, bring me that bottle", requested John. Jim took the flask at the table.

"This is going to hurt like hell, luv, in other words, it's just like what we face everyday". He poured the drink on her belly. She growled. Jim seemed like he could intervene at any second now.

"Please, try not to move", inquired Chas. He began to sew her skin, slowly, carefully. Zed didn't make a sound, but her face was twisted in a frown. Sweat poured down her forehead. Her clothes were soaked wet. John stood by her side, watching Chas, and he drank what was left of the bottle.

Jim sighed. It was his entire fault. He was the one supposed to get hurt, not her. Why did he choose that place?

"Don't go there", said John, his eyes fixed on the cop. He knew that expression of his very well. "Self pity is a nasty place and a long way down the bottom. It's hard to get out of there once you sank."

"I'm done", announced Chas, retreating, after half an hour. They all looked at his work, approving. It was an ugly seam, but professional and clean. At least it served its main purpose: stop the bleeding. Zed had her eyes closed. She breathed slowly. He saved his aids back to the bag and cleaned the sweat out of his forehead. John didn't have realized that of all of them, he was the most edgy. After all, he had the greatest responsibility.

"Well done, mate. You should rest. Take Zed's room. Better leave her here and not move her."

Chas agreed, took her key card and left the room. John and Jim exchanged looks.

"I was planning on have a look at the cemetery", said John. Jim recognized his attempt to invite Jim to come along without saying the words. If it were not so tragic, it would be laughable.

"Leave it for tomorrow. She can't be alone", suggested Jim.

After thinking about it for a while, John agreed reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll call you."

Jim nodded and, after a last glance to Zed, he left the room.

John finally looked at her, sleeping. He touched her cheek lightly, with the back of his hand, just to be feel her breath and to be sure she was really asleep or if she was dead. She seemed so fragile lying there. John thought about the last time he had seen her like this, but he didn't get any memories. She had always been fierce. Even in the hospital, facing the result of her exams: a tumor.

He regretted sending Chas to her room. They should have switched places; at least this way if Zed needed them Chas would be more useful. He thought about leaving her there, but what if something happened and she couldn't reach for her phone to call them? _When she wakes up, she'll probably be very disoriented_, thought John.

With a fretful sigh, he laid by her side, still wearing his bloodied clothes. He was very cautious not to touch her, not even to stay close to her. He didn't sleep that night, but he felt his body resting, and through the night, while he watched Zed sleeping to be sure she wouldn't lay on her stomach and open the wound up again, he understood why someone would face a graveyard to ask Marie Laveau a wish.


	6. Chapter 6

Zed woke up with an aching pain on her flat stomach. She breathed sharply and slowly, trying to calm herself down. Then, she opened her eyes and searched for the injury's origin. It wasn't hard to find it: her shirt was soaked in blood that had leaked from the lint. In a second, she remembered what had happened last night. New Orleans. The bar. Jim. John. The fight. She carelessly putting herself in front of the demonologist without a thought – obviously – and being stabbed instead of him.

John owed her.

She looked out of the window. It was dark, still night. Or _already_ night. She wasn't sure. She was completely disoriented. How long have been since the last time she was awake?

A half-hearted knock on the door.

"Come on in", she invited.

"Hey, there." Jim had a smile on his face. He carried a tray with breakfast. Her stomach moaned, hungry. She hadn't even realized it until now.

"Hi." He put the tray in front of her. "Thanks."

He sat on the edge of her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"A little bit confused. What time is it?"

"Eight p.m."

Zed was startled.

"God, I slept for _ages. _You should've awoken me."

"No need for that. You have to rest."

"I've rested enough. We should go to the graveyard." She had a slight memory about John saying to her Addy had wished something to Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen. That was why her boyfriend had disappeared. They should go investigate. Summon Marie and ask questions. Do something. Be valuable.

"We're going right now. But you need to stay here." She opened her mouth to protest. "Please. I promise you we're just going to explore the surroundings, you know? The boring stuff."

"So it's going to be easy. No need to leave me here."

"Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Daddy Issues, enough talk." John got inside the room carrying his bag, ready to leave.

"Daddy issues? Are you projecting yourself in them?" asked Chas following the blond man.

"I'd say you're too soft, Corrigan, but I know this bloody woman is unbeatable even off of battle", teased John, ignoring his friend.

Zed glared at him. He still hadn't look at her. She knew he was just using his humor to hide his guilty. And she also knew it would be impossible to put some sense into his head. If there were one thing John loved more than cigarettes, alcohol and women, it was to play the martyr.

"We gotta go", said Jim, looking at her again. "Call if you need anything."

She sighed and agreed.

"I'll clean your wound." Chas approached her. Jim got up and followed John out of the room. He didn't look at her once.

When Chas finished, gently as always, she watched him go too. "See you later", he said before closing the door.

"Take care", she whispered back.

All of her three men, gone.

Zed decided to take a shower. She needed to switch clothes, so she went back to her room. It was hard to clean herself without ruining the curative, but she did her best. She looked for painkillers she always left in her bag for headaches and took two pills quickly. Then she sat and went through John's artifacts to keep herself busy.

"Why are we always invading cemeteries together? This is going to be our thing now?" asked John for Jim while Chas broke silently the lock from the front gate.

"Not if I can bury you in one first."

"Fair enough."

"Okay, let's go", said Chas when he opened the gate. He had an annoyed boys-don't-fight tone. He was thankful he had had a daughter instead of a son. They walked to Marie's tomb. John could spot some Xs in there. Not a big surprised the lady got pissed and started killing people who soiled her grave. Not very thoughtful of them.

John took a spray can off his bag and painted three red Xs on one of the once-upon-a-time-white walls.

"What do we ask for?" questioned Jim, whispering.

_So many things_, thought John. _My mother. Astra. _He knew all of them had secret desires and were tempted to ask for something. Chas could ask for his family back together. Jim could ask for not die young. But they had to keep in mind that was an illusion. Marie would take their wants and twisted them into something they would hate.

He decided to ask something simple.

"A bottle of Jack Daniels."

"Classy", murmured Chas by his side.

"We can't risk anything bigger than that", justified John. It obviously hadn't anything to do with the fact that he hated getting sober for too long.

"So what is going to happen?" inquired Jim. "A bottle will fall from heavens?"

"Considering they're all bloody old-fashioned, no." All he had to do was thinking about Manny and his innocence.

"We should ask her to come here." Chas took the spray can from John's hands and sketched three Xs. "Laveau, show yourself to us."

They waited. And waited.

"I need to piss", declared John after awhile. He turned away and walked through the woods until he was far away from Chas and Jim. Then he stomped on something that produced a glass sound.

He casted a light on it with his cell phone. "Nice." He had a smile on his lips when he bended to catch the Jack Daniel's bottle.

He opened it and took a sip. He could see endless possibilities in front of him. _I should ask for an always-full bank account. Never having lung cancer despite all the cigarettes I smoke. _And, on a less selfish side, he could ask to talk to his mother. He could ask for Astra leaving hell behind. Maybe Marie wasn't just pure evil. Maybe those people had only made the wrong phrases and she took advantage on that. If he asked carefully, without leaving gaps for her to be creative, she could be convenient.

"John, come here!" Chas's shout came through the woods. John walked back to Marie's sepulcher quickly.

The lady herself had come out from wherever she was.

She had an ethereal beauty, almost as an African goddess. Ragged clothes from another time, dark skin, bony features and black hair. And she had brought a friend.

A snake was placed on her neck as a fancy scarf. The animal hissed to them. It didn't look very amused.

"That trick was very clever. No one bothered before to know me. All they care about is to ask for their selfish cravings."


	7. Chapter 7

"That's why you twist them into something awful?" asked Chas. He took the knife out of his boot and aimed it in a defensive position, just in case. Even though, if Laveau was a ghost, that wouldn't be of much use.

The snake hissed, as if offended.

"I don't. All the people who come to me _have _dark desires that they're ashamed of saying out loud. I just help them. Usually it's all about money and sex. A beggar wanted to get out of the life he had. A man wanted money, but he was between jobs. His mother, however, had a wealthy patrimony he would inherit if she died. A girl wanted her boyfriend gone." She grinned while their faces gradually changed to an understanding expression. Now it all made sense.

John's mind was working, trying to comprehend from where she took her power. Someone must keep her "alive". A very dominant someone. Maybe even more than one person. But why?

"Now, do you want to ask your real wishes? Or perhaps we should do a more fun game. Do you want me to guess?" Her smile seemed a shattered glass across her face. She tilted her head and glared at Chas. "Maybe a stable and accepting family? A wife who will love you no matter what and accept you in her arms all the time? A daughter who doesn't hate you for being an absent father and that won't grow up to be a bitter adult like your friend here?"

Chas's expression distorted into something painful to watch, as if he was dying again. John closed his eyes, trying to think in a way to send her away. At least long enough so he could think about a way to kill her permanently. It'd have to involve _her _artifices. Voodoo. Papa Midnite. Who knew, maybe they were even colleagues.

Constantine put his guard down for a second and Marie targeted him next.

"Or maybe have the chance to fix your mistakes. Lots of them, by the way. Talking to someone you never had the chance to meet. Or save some innocent soul. The funny part is that none of you are worried about money, which is unusual for me. You know easy ways to get it." John thought about Zed being stabbed right in front of him. Marie saw the flicker of his eyes and took the opportunity. "The same thing about sex. Love, however, is a different thing. It's harder to get. Don't you know, Mr. Constantine?"

John opened his mouth to reply something, but the witch was already talking to Jim:

"And you know, too." She smiled back to John just once. "I also do, I won't lie. My first husband was murder. Intolerance. Hate crime. Whatever you call these days. Then I had Luis. Love _is_ hard, but it's easier than immortality. One thing I don't know about is the everyday fear of dying. It can happen any moment if you're not Mr. Chandler. So you could also ask for immortality. Many did."

She sighed and walked to her grave. She lightly touched the Xs there.

"Anyway, my point is, here I am, open hearted offering to you whatever you want, and you", her snake whistled to the demonologist, "are planning on killing me. How rude."

"It's nothing personal, love. Y'all have our flaws. Most of us work it out without killing people."

"Fortunately I'm not one of those."

Her snake attacked, lunging to John. He flew back. Chas was ready and stabbed the cobra in midair as if it were a meat skewer. Marie screamed in pain. Her yell echoed through the graveyard. Bounded with her pet, John noted rapidly. Can come in hand later.

"Corrigan, wish her gone!" shouted John to Jim. Chas threw his spray can to the cop. He still was holding the snake – merely -, as it was still alive and fighting, trying to free itself. John came in his aid.

Jim ran to the grave and started drawing. Nails scratched his face followed by an impact of bodies that threw him aside. His hand crashed into the floor, and the spray can flew far away.

Things would be easier if Zed were there.

Marie hissed at him, almost snake like, if not completely. She wasn't a ghost; her body's weight pressed him against the ground, stopping him from moving. He struggled, grunting, and pulled her over his shoulder. Her body crushed the floor. He got up quickly and recovered the red can.

John kept her dizzy with a spell. They seemed to finally have killed the cobra. And then he drew.

"I want Marie Laveau to go back to where she belongs."

John stopped reciting the spell. Her body slowly faded away.

"I doubt this is the end. It wouldn't be that easy", said Chas.

"No, it wouldn't. We need to go back to the hotel and do some research."

They went back to the car. Chas – obviously John wouldn't say anything about it, even though that cop deserved his respect he would rather not show it – thanked Jim. They knew that wasn't the last time they would see Corrigan. He would come back to help them and know more about it – especially considering that the Knight case was his – and also for Zed.

"So, who do you think is the source that is 'feeding' Laveau?" asked Chas in their way back to the hotel. He drove through lit and crowded with people partying streets.

"If I remember it correctly, our voodoo queen had a daughter who inherited her magic legacy. She's the only one with motive to keep Laveau's soul trapped in a tombstone for so long."

"But wouldn't she be dead too by now?"

"I'm guessing this is all about family heritage and bloodlines." John shrugged. Deep down, it all came down to kinfolk.

"You know what they say, blood is thicker than water." Chas sighed. Marie's teasing had taken a tool on him too, as much as he wanted to hide it.

"It's also more dangerous." People did crazy things because of kinship.


End file.
